William C. Gibson Sr., 72, mail carrier downtown

April 08, 2002

William C. Gibson Sr., a longtime Cape St. Claire resident who delivered mail on foot for more than 30 years in Baltimore, died Tuesday of heart failure at North Arundel Hospital in Glen Burnie. He was 72.

Born in Northfield, Minn., Mr. Gibson joined the Navy in 1950 and was stationed in Annapolis. He left the service after four years and became a carrier with the U.S. Postal Service in Baltimore. Until retiring in 1990, Mr. Gibson delivered letters daily to courthouses and offices in downtown Baltimore. He enjoyed meeting people, and enjoyed the work, said his daughter Linda M. Barnett of Severna Park.

In 1951, he married Ruth Marie Dick, who died in July.

Mr. Gibson lived in Cape St. Claire, outside Annapolis, from 1958 until last year, when he moved to Severna Park.

Services were held Saturday in Cape St. Claire.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Gibson is survived by three sisters, Carol Bakken of Chippewa Falls, Wis., Dorothy Hjelter of Hampton, Minn., and Joyce Swanson of Brooklyn Park, Minn.; a son, William C. Gibson Jr. of Reisterstown; two other daughters, Deborah D. Saffran of Pasadena and Marcia A. Kempf of Annapolis; 10 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.